By The People For The People

We recently took part in the National Automatic Merchandising Association's first "Fly-In" in Washington, DC. This was organized as an opportunity for industry members from all parts of the nation to pay brief visits to their own elected representatives, to provide overall information about vending, foodservice and office refreshments and to express their concerns about current and proposed laws and regulations.

The program went smoothly and well, remarkably so for the first-ever staging of an event involving a good many people and an intricate schedule. And the experience led us to reflect on the current impatience with contemporary politics that sometimes seems to dominate news and opinion forums.

For example, we were engaged in an activity that often is called "lobbying," and it seems to us that this term is widely misunderstood and often abused. There is an immense difference between a business that is angling for the government to give it something and one that desires only to be treated equitably as it goes about meeting its customers' needs. That fairness requires the people who draft proposed laws and regulations to understand a number of details about enterprises about which they know little or nothing.

This is where trade associations come in; one of their principal functions is providing this kind of information to government. The National Automatic Merchandising Association has a long history of doing this very well, providing the catalyst by which farsighted operators and suppliers developed durable communication networks connecting the industry with public health and safety experts at all levels of government and in the academy. As the new full-line industry boomed in the 1960s, operators knew the rules for safe retailing of postmix cold drinks, soluble and fresh-brewed coffee and refrigerated foods. And governments knew where to go for fast, comprehensive and accurate information.

This approach has worked well because it is based on common interests: operators, suppliers and government sanitarians all want food to be wholesome. But it is not always able to deal with challenges that are presented more by opinion, attitude and emotion than by recognizable hazards to which practical solutions are known. These must be addressed by cultivating an accurate, positive overview of the industry on the part of elected officials.

This is what grass-roots lobbying like the NAMA Fly-In can do efficiently and well. Vending, office refreshment and foodservice operators are voters and constituents too, and have the same right as any citizen to make their concerns known to those whom they elect to represent them. When government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed, the citizenry must convey its desires to its representatives. So everyone is a lobbyist.

Participants in the Fly-In were encouraged to mention three national public policy issues during their scheduled meetings with House and Senate staff members. These were caloric-content disclosure for products in vending machines, specifically the importance of prompt action on publishing the requirements for front-of-package labels; careful review of the Treasury Department's Congressionally mandated study of possible cost savings through changing the metallic composition of the U.S. coin set; and the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015, which was passed by the House in February as H.R. 527 and, as S.426, is now in committee in the Senate.

The NAMA delegates also had the opportunity to call attention to the well-regarded Fit Pick program that identifies vending products that meet nationally recognized nutritional criteria. And they were able to bring up local issues, such as the New York State Automatic Vending Association's well-received "Taste NY" initiative to increase the number and variety of locally produced items sold through vending machines in the state.

Participation in the NAMA Fly-In exceeded the conservative estimates of its organizers, who are confident that it will be repeated next year. We urge everyone who can break free for two days to get involved with this program.

We also urge operators to take a close look at efforts they might make locally to reinforce public understanding of the capabilities of today's industry. Another aspect of our representative democracy is that a negative public image tends to crystallize into adverse legislation and regulation. We've observed manifestations of this, here and there, for more than four decades, and we are impressed by the progress that has been made. There has been a marked decrease in slapstick comedy routines involving people kicking (or shooting) vending machines, and in snarky newspaper columns about "one-armed bandits." And the appeal of cutting-edge vending machines as novel marketing tools has the potential to bring new glamor to robotic retailing.

Full-line vending, and now micromarket operations, are by their nature local businesses, requiring continual route service. This is in tune with the temper of the times; it's up to us to take full advantage of it.